A Christmas Collin (Bringing Home Trouble)

Chapter 2

2

COLLIN

D anielle Brogan's ash blonde hair is pulled back into a high and tight ponytail that shows off the slender lines of her neck and draws my gaze to her hazel eyes immediately. I don’t even believe in fate, but it’s like something has aligned that allowed us to meet like this.

I can’t count how many times I’ve dreamed of seeing her again and showing her I’m a far cry from the boy I was. That I am now someone she can be proud of. Someone who can take care of her. Someone she can rely on. Someone who can give her a good life.

What I didn’t take into account was how all the pent-up desire and longing would come rushing back at me all at once, almost knocking me off my feet.

This grown-up version of Danielle makes my head spin, my heart slamming against my ribcage. It’s not even ten minutes, but I’m already too far gone for her. So much so that hugging her feels natural, and my body hums in excitement when she doesn’t push me away.

A deep shade of red blooms across her cheeks as she says, "You don't have to do that. If my car's ready to go, my roadside service should cover this, right? I can tell Mom and Josh the dating thing was a misunderstanding."

"You and your mother have conversations the same exact way." I laugh. "All over the place. Are you seeing anybody?"

"No." The relief that she's available is immediate, and I know down to the marrow of my bones that I won’t let her slip away. Not this time. Never again. "I told Josh I was dating someone to get him off my case. They all say I work too much, and I just didn't want to hear it through the rest of this week. I told my mother that I'd bring my boyfriend, but sometimes sarcasm goes right over her head."

"Then bring me, Jelly Bean."

The side of her mouth lifts, and it makes my pulse pump wildly. I will do anything for that smile. "I can't believe you still remember that name. No one else calls me that."

"No one else is supposed to call you that because I gave that name to ya. Now, don't ignore me. I'll come over as your boyfriend. I'd love to see how the Brogans are doing after all these years. Although your dad and I never saw eye to eye, I'd actually like to thank him. Between you and him, I would have never ended up coming back to Heffen's Bluff."

Something clouds over her features. "Um, shit. I'm sorry, Collin. Dad passed away around eight years ago."

The overwhelming feeling to hug her washes over me, and I can't stop myself from pulling Danielle into my arms again. It feels natural to do this, like my first instinct is to comfort her. "You don't be sorry. I'm sorry. You have my condolences. He was a great man, even though it took some growing up for me to see he was only trying to help me. You too."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. All of the 'You're so much better than this' talk got me thinking about my love for cars." My arms drop to hold her by the waist, and I do what I can to keep her close. Having her here and not touching her is torture.

She giggles. "Well, you kept stealing them."

"That's how I thought I was supposed to learn how to drive. You know? Joy riding, but your dad set me straight. He actually kept me out of a ton of trouble. I really am sorry he passed. I wish I didn't let work take over my life, or else I would have found my way back to y'all sooner."

"It's all right." She smiles the smile that never fails to stop my heart. "I'm happy for your success, and I'm sure Dad would have loved to pick your brain about how you got so far, but it's just Mom and us. You remember my younger siblings, right? Josh and Evelyn?"

I flash her a smile and step back, shoving my hands in my pockets to make sure I keep them to myself, even if my entire body screams at me to stay closer. "I remember enough. They treated me like I had the plague, but you were different. You were nice to me when no one else really was. No one else besides your dad, of course. Back then, kindness was rare to me. It wasn’t often people treated me like … well, like I’m human and not some delinquent out to steal their cans of beans."

She smiles. "Dad never wanted to see any child under his care struggle. Besides, you had that whole bad boy look pat down, but I knew there was some goodness in you. Dad, too."

That affects me more than I let on. She’s always believed in me, even during those days when I didn’t believe in myself. "So let me do this for ya. I'll come to dinner and be your boyfriend. It gives me a chance to show your mom that I made something of myself. She'll get to see that what your dad wanted has actually happened. I'm not struggling. I'm doing way better than the 17-year-old kid you all met ten years ago."

Danielle locks eyes with me, the gears turning in her pretty head. I can't believe that of all the calls I get into the shop, this one is to rescue the girl of my dreams. It's been too long, but I never stopped thinking about her. She's all I've ever wanted, and I can't seem to shake that feeling no matter how much time passes. Now that I've got her here in front of me, this is my chance to make her mine. Sure, it’s fake dating, but I’ll take whatever I can.

That’s one foot in the door, at least.

"You know my mother has a hard time seeing potential in people. I have to admit that it would be nice to see the look on her face when I show up with you—my boyfriend who runs his own business." She tilts her head to the side and lifts a brow. "What about my car?"

I chuckle, happiness blooming in my chest—something I haven’t felt in a long, long time. "Talking to you is like a ping pong game. You got enough oil to get you to your mom's place. But I still want to get it in the shop and take a look at everything else. I'll top off your fluids, check your brakes, and make sure the lack of oil ain't damaged your engine. Now, about this boyfriend situation. How long have we been dating?"

She laughs and shrugs. "I don't know, six weeks? I don't want to say much longer than that because I had lunch with Josh, and if I didn't bring you up then, he's not going to believe it now. He already thinks I made you up."

"There's nothing imaginary about me, Jelly Bean."

She turns red again as she looks away. "We gotta set some rules for this dating thing."

"Why do we need rules? I thought you said this was only for dinner, Danielle."

"Collin, we're going to be a couple. We have to behave like a couple." She chews on her bottom lip and digs the heel of her shoe into the ground. "There has to be kissing and stuff."

Well, shit. Sign me up. "And stuff? I'm interested in the stuffing part."

She shoves me back playfully. "Don't be a pervert."

I wrap a hand around her wrist to keep her palm on my chest, right above my heart. "I'll have to work on that. I thought I was flirting. You know we can date for real? How about you bring the car to my shop tomorrow? While it's there, I'll take you out to lunch or something."

"Stop joking around. How is this going to work, by the way?" She sighs, her eyes avoiding mine and the question of taking her out tomorrow. "How did we meet?"

"I was in D.C., and we ran into each other."

"When were you in D.C.?" Reality breaks the facade she's trying to create, and her eyebrows furrow. "Visiting your girlfriend?"

"Jelly Bean." My voice is firm, my thumb rubbing circles on her wrist. "If you're my girl, you're the only one." I hesitate a bit, wondering how far I can go, how much I can tell her. I want to tell the truth—that this isn’t just a game to me—but I also don’t want to scare her away. "If I'm being honest, you've always been the only one for me. My ambition to make this business work took over, and before I knew it, ten years had gone by."

"Think of that time as getting us ready for what's about to happen."

"Pretending to be your boyfriend, Jelly Bean?" I reply with a laugh, finally lowering her hand. "I'd rather be the real thing, but for now, we'll stick to your plan. As far as when I was in D.C., we'll keep that to about six weeks ago, like you said. If you want to sprinkle some truth over the lie, I actually travel back and forth to D.C. a few times a month."

"Oh? What brings you out there so often?"

"I do charity work for an organization that works with foster children. I teach shop and HVAC skills to at-risk youth."

Her expression shifts like I just pulled out a puppy. "That's so admirable. All I do is help people manage their fears."

"That's amazing. I know a few kids who can use that service."

"Oh, I usually treat adults. I can give you a free session. Yes! Let's do that while my car is in your shop. I'll help you get over whatever you're afraid of in return for being my fake boyfriend. I would pay you cash, but money is tight. I don't even know how much getting my car roadworthy is going to cost."

"Don't worry about the car. I'll take care of it. But what do you do if you have a client that's not scared of anything?"

"That's impossible." She scoffs and mildly shivers as a cold wind whips through the air. "Everyone is scared of something."

I reach behind her waist, leaning in so close our mouths are almost touching. Goddamn. The urge to taste her lips is overwhelming, and it takes every ounce of self-control I didn’t know I had not to cup her face and shove my tongue inside her warm mouth.

But then…

She reaches in the rest of the way, kissing me softly on the corner of my lips as I gently pull the door's handle behind her ass, shocking me to my core.

"I'm sorry," she blurts out, an even deeper shade of red covering her beautiful face. She covers her face with her hands while I stand stock still. "Shit, I thought you were leaning in for a kiss."

"I seen you were gettin' cold, Danielle. The kiss is a part of the and stuff you were talking about. Let's see if we can make it believable. I don't want our first kiss in front of other people to be awkward."

My tether snaps, and I turn my head at a better angle to capture her mouth. We barely feel the door I just opened closing behind her as our bodies mold together. My tongue passes between her lips, savoring the sweet flavor of her mouth and drawing a moan out of her that gets blood flowing to my cock.

One pass after another, my tongue caresses hers. I cup her jaw, and she fists the front of my shirt, as if we both hate even an inch of space between us.

This. This has been my dream for so fucking long that I become unsteady on my feet, like I’m standing on a rocking boat in the middle of the ocean.

I hold her tighter against my body, but the intensity of this kiss demands privacy, forcing me to stop and back up. The tip of my tongue glides across my lip, my face splitting into a grin.

We've crossed a line we can never get back from, and I try my best not to howl like a madman. It somehow feels like I just conquered something.

Jesus. She tastes so much sweeter than I thought possible, and I can’t get enough. I can spend the next two lifetimes kissing her, and it still won’t be enough. Danielle deserves to be worshiped in every way.

Danielle touches her mouth with her small fingers, her eyes glassy. "That was less awkward."

"It was just right."

She bites her bottom lip, her chest heaving. "So, dinner tonight, and I can show you what I do tomorrow? A session to overcome any fear you have."

"I offered to take you on a date, and you want to turn it into work. It sounds like you're afraid to go out with me, Jelly Bean. Isn't going out together a part of the and stuff aside from kissing?"

"It is, but all of this is happening so fast." She shivers again as another December evening breeze blows.

This time, I open her car door all the way. I have so many plans for us, and none of them will happen if she freezes to death. "Get in the car and warm up. I'll be over to your mom's place by six. I just gotta close up the shop for the night. Oh, and before you talk about rules and sessions, I have a rule of my own."

"What's that?"

"Once I've touched the right spot, no one else touches it. Mine is mine. I don’t share." She reaches up to gently touch her lips with a smile, and I lean forward, kissing her softly and pulling back. "I'm talking about the car, too."